A Tragic Lovers' Tale
by TNSasukeLover
Summary: sasusaku naruhina.


**I do not own Naruto. Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. thank you and enjoy :)**

**Naruto: A Tragic Lovers' Tale**

It was a beautiful night in the village hidden in the leaves. Stars were sparkling, the moon was bright and ever so slightly there was the peaceful sound of crickets in the night. Naruto and Sasuke walked slowly through the streets toward Ichiraku's ramen shop.

"Sasuke... I'm nervous," Naruto complained. "What if I screw up? What if I do something stupid?"

"Ha! That's already too late," Sasuke laughed.

"You know... I don't think that you are nervous about seeing Sakura..."

"You're right. I'm not nervous... I'm furious! I don't want to go on this stupid date with you and Hinata... I mean, why do Sakura and I have to babysit you two while you go on your little date? It's not cool man," Sasuke responded.

"Oh come on! You're not babysitting us," Naruto said. "You're simply on a double date."

"But I don't want to date Sakura," Sasuke said.

"Just for one night Sasuke! It's just one night!"

"Just one night can be hell!"

"Then why are you going?"

Sasuke froze. "b-be-because... because someone needs to watch over you," he quickly said.

"Mhm... whatever," Naruto said slyly.

Just then, they arrived at Ichiraku's ramen shop. Inside were two girls. The girl with short pink hair smiled as the girl with long black hair with purple highlights turned bright red in the face.

"Hay Sakura! Hay Hinata," Naruto yelled happily.

"H-h-hay... n-na-Naruto," Hinata managed to reply.

"Hay Naruto. Hay... s-Sasuke," Sakura said.

Sasuke just looked at Sakura and turned away to sit down.

Naruto was already in conversation with Hinata; more like he was doing all of the talking and Hinata just became more and more red in the face. Sakura wanted to talk to Sasuke but she wasn't sure what to say.

"Sasuke... how have you been lately," she finally said.

Sasuke just looked at her and said, "Fine..."

Sakura looked away. She felt so nervous yet so upset that Sasuke wouldn't talk to her. Sasuke noticed her reaction but tried to block it out.

For the rest of the date, Naruto just talked to Hinata and ate as much ramen as he could as Sasuke and Sakura ate in silence. When everyone was finished, they walked outside.

"Come on Hinata. I'll walk you home," Naruto said.

"O-ok," Hinata replied. "Bye Sakura. Bye Sasuke."

"Bye Hinata," Sakura said. Sasuke just nodded his head as Naruto and Hinata left.

Sakura just looked at Sasuke for a few minutes. The minutes felt like ages to her though. Finally, she said, "I guess I'll be going home now..."

"I guess I could... walk you home," Sasuke responded quietly.

Sakura turned around. "W-What did you just say?"

"Look! Do you want me to walk you home or not?"

Sakura looked at Sasuke calmly. "That would be nice..."

"Well come on! We ain't got all night!"

"Alright Sasuke," Sakura responded.

They walked in silence until they got to Sakura's apartment.

"Thank you for walking me home," Sakura said.

Sasuke looked at Sakura. "Hn..."

Sakura turned towards the door but then turned around to face Sasuke.

"I had a great time... Thank you... Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked at Sakura with surprise in his eyes. Then, he started to feel guilt as Sakura started walking towards the door.

"Sakura..."

Sakura stopped and turned around. "Yes Sasuke..."

"Can I say something?"

"... Of course... What is it?"

"I... I'm... I'm sorry..."

Sakura looked at Sasuke. "Oh Sasuke... You don't need to apologize. I had a great time. Really."

"I know you don't mean that," Sasuke said.

"I do mean it," Sakura yelled getting angry. "From the bottom of my heart I–"

Sasuke grabbed Sakura and kissed her passionately. When the kiss broke, Sakura looked at him in amazement. "... Sasuke..."

"I'm sorry Sakura... Please... Forgive me," Sasuke said as he quickly left.

"Wait," Sakura yelled but he was already gone. She could not believe what had just happened. Sasuke Uchiha kissed her! She felt wonderful...

Meanwhile, Naruto and Hinata were walking through the streets on their way to Hinata's home.

"N-Naruto... Why did you want to date me," Hinata shyly asked.

Naruto looked at Hinata. "... Because... I like you," he responded.

"B-But... What about S-S-Sakura?"

"What about her?"

"Well... D-Don't you like her too," Hinata asked cautiously.

Naruto looked up to the sky. "Yeah... But..." He turned to face her and looked her in the eyes. "I don't like her the way I like you... I... I love you Hinata. That's a feeling that I will never have towards Sakura."

Hinata looked at Naruto with surprise in her eyes. She never thought that Naruto would ever say that.

Naruto looked away. "... And besides... She is perfectly fine with Sasuke."

"Thank you... Naruto..."

Naruto looked at Hinata. "Huh?"

"Thank you..."

Naruto smiled and gave her a thumbs up. "Sure thing baby!"

Hinata blushed a bright red color as they arrived at the Hyuuga residence.

"Good night Naruto..."

"Good night Hinata," Naruto said as he hugged her and kissed her forehead.

Hinata walked into the Hyuuga mansion as Naruto walked to his apartment.

At Konoha High school, Naruto walked into the classroom with Kiba and Shikamaru. Already in the classroom were Sakura, Ino and Hinata.

"Man... I can't believe that the weekend is already over. High school is such a drag," Shikamaru said.

"Hay Naruto, I almost forgot to ask... How was your date with Hinata," Kiba said.

"It was great Kiba! I'm thinking about asking her on another date or... maybe even be my girlfriend," Naruto stated.

Hinata blushed a bright red as the three boys walked into the room. Sakura turned around and looked for Sasuke who normally came in with Naruto. But he wasn't with the boys. Sakura continued to look around. Ino noticed what Sakura was doing and turned to Naruto.

"Naruto... Where's Sasuke," she asked him.

Naruto looked over at Ino. "... I honestly don't know. He didn't answer when I knocked on his door. I thought that he might have come here early but I can see that he didn't."

"I wonder what's wrong with him," Ino responded.

Sakura looked at the floor. Naruto saw Sakura's reaction.

"I'm sorry Sakura," he said softly. "I'll stop by his house after school today and see what's wrong with him."

"No... I will," Sakura replied.

"Sakura..."

Then, the bell rang and the rest of the class walked in to the room. All except for the teacher and Sasuke...

Sakura began to worry. Never before had Sasuke been absent or came in late. Naruto soon broke into her thoughts.

"Man! Where is that damn teacher? Class should have started twenty minutes ago!"

As Naruto yelled, a man walked into the room. He had a Shinobi headband that covered his left eye. His hair was a whitish-grey and he was reading a copy of _Make-Out Paradise_.

"Good morning class," he said happily.

"Kakashi Sensei! Class was supposed to start twenty minutes ago," Naruto yelled.

"Sorry, I was on my way here when I ran into this old lady-"

"Excuses, excuses," Naruto said.

"Alright Naruto... That's enough," Kakashi said. "Now... Let's start cla- ... Where's Sasuke?"

"He's absent Kakashi Sensei," Sakura said quietly.

"... Oh... My. Well... Carry on. To our first subject forbidden jutsu..."

The bell rang dismissing all of the students. Naruto walked outside with Hinata. They were happily talking and laughing.

"So, tonight. Eight o' clock right," Naruto asked.

"Right. See ya then Naruto," Hinata responded.

"Alright Hinata. Bye," Naruto said as they both went their separate ways.

Ino and Sakura soon walked outside.

"Sakura... Do you have any idea what might be wrong with Sasuke? I mean, it's just not like him to be absent. He was always so uptight about that," Ino said.

"I don't know what's wrong with him but I do hope that he's okay," Sakura responded.

"Hm... Well, let me know if he's okay later on today alright?"

"Alright Ino. Bye."

As Ino walked away, Sakura walked in the other direction towards Sasuke's house. When she arrived, she walked up to the house and knocked on the door.

"Sasuke. Please open the door. Sasuke," Sakura pleaded. But there was no answer. After two minutes of waiting, Sakura was getting ready to leave until the door slightly opened.

"Sakura?"

Sakura turned around. "Sasuke? Oh thank God you're ok," Sakura yelled as she hugged him tightly.

"Sakura... why are you here," Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke, when I saw that you weren't at school today, I was worried about you!'

"Sakura," Sasuke said quietly. "You don't have to worry about me..."

"I know... but it's just not like you to skip school. What's wrong? Are you sick?"

"I'm fine Sakura," Sasuke responded.

"Then what's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," Sasuke said quickly turning away.

Sakura looked at Sasuke with concern. "Sasuke?"

Sasuke didn't move.

"May I come in," Sakura asked.

"... Sure..."

Sakura followed Sasuke into the house. She noticed that for someone that lived alone due to the death of his parents, Sasuke kept a pretty clean, nice looking home.

"This is a very nice place," Sakura stated.

"Thanks," Sasuke replied continuing not to look at Sakura.

"Sasuke... Will you please tell me what's wrong?"

"I already told you. There is nothing wrong," Sasuke said disappearing into another room further down the hallway.

Sakura hesitated at first, but then followed him into the room. When she got to the door, she stopped. She noticed that the room he was in was his bedroom. He was sitting on the bed looking at a picture.

"Sasuke..."

"I... I'm afraid," Sasuke said quietly.

Sakura looked at Sasuke with sadness and confusion in her eyes. "Afraid of what?"

"Love... I'm afraid that if I love someone, I will lose that person like I had lost my family. I'm afraid that I won't be able to protect that person. I'm afraid of losing you..."

Sakura walked towards Sasuke and saw that the photo he was holding was a family photo which consisted of himself, his parents and his older brother who had killed his parents. She felt sorry for Sasuke. She wanted to make him happy again. "Oh Sasuke," she said as she sat on the bed next to him.

"I'm sorry Sakura. I just don't think that I could protect you... I couldn't even protect my parents..."

"Sasuke... you were six years old. There was nothing you could do. You are much older now. You're sixteen. You're more experienced; you learned how to protect someone you love. Now you can use those skills to protect those that you love," Sakura explained.

Sasuke was silent for a moment. "You sound like my mother," he said finally.

Sakura laughed. "I hope that's a good thing."

Sasuke laughed with Sakura and hugged her. Then, Sakura kissed him passionately.

"Thank you Sakura... For everything."

"Hey, what are friends for. When you need me, I'll always be there," Sakura said.

Naruto paced back and forth in front of Ichiraku's Ramen shop. It was seven fifty-eight and Naruto was really excited to see Hinata again. Then, a smallish figure appeared before him.

"I hope I'm not late," Hinata said to Naruto. She was dressed in a beautiful light blue dress with her hair up in a bun.

Naruto's eyes grew wide. "Wow Hinata! You look gorgeous!"

Hinata blushed a deep red but then returned to her normal color. "Thank you Naruto. You look very dashing tonight."

"Ha ha! Thanks but I don't think that I look that good," Naruto responded.

"But you do... You look very handsome."

Naruto looked at Hinata. He noticed that she was serious about what she said.

"Shall we go now," Hinata asked offering her hand to him.

Naruto was confused for a minute. Why was she being more kind than usual and why was her voice was no longer shy and quiet? Finally he responded with, "Yes we shall."

They both walked hand in hand through the village. Then, they reached a scene with a small fountain and two cherry blossom trees.

"Naruto... It's so lovely," Hinata exclaimed.

"This is the Sacred Shrine of Beauty," Naruto responded.

"I can see why..."

"I thought that you might like this place. This is where I planned to take my most cherished person in life. And that most cherished person is you."

"Thank you Naruto. I love it," Hinata said pushing herself against Naruto. "This night is so wonderful..."

"No... This night is awesome. Believe it!"

Hinata lightly laughed. "I do believe it."

Naruto laughed as he put his hands around Hinata's waist and held her close. Then, he leaned his head down and whispered in her ear, "I love you."

Hinata blushed for a few seconds and then responded. "I love you too Naruto..."

Naruto and Hinata were now boyfriend and girlfriend and so were Sasuke and Sakura. All four of them were the talk of the school. Everybody was happy for all four of the friends. But little did the people of Konoha know that their day was going to turn into a horrific sight.

It was ninja testing day at Konoha High school. Kakashi was reading _Make-Out Paradise_ while all of the students were taking their test. Then, the silence of the classroom was disturbed by the ring of Kakashi's cell phone.

"Hello," Kakashi answered.

The room was more silent than ever for those next 5 minutes. Then, Kakashi quickly stood up.

"Everyone stay in this classroom and be very quiet and on alert. There is an intruder in the village," he said, quickly leaving the room.

At first, the room was silent but then, Karin broke the silence.

"Well, I don't see why we can't fight this intruder. I mean, we were taught how to defend ourselves and fight our enemies."

"Maybe the enemy is out of our league," Naruto said. "If this intruder was someone from the Sound Village, we probably wouldn't stand a chance..."

"Naruto is right. Our elders are only trying to protect us. After all, we are the future of Konoha," Hinata explained.

The conversation was soon interrupted by a loud explosion. Everyone in the classroom covered their heads as the building shook.

Naruto looked up and yelled, "Sasuke!"

Sasuke turned to face the door and immediately activated his Sharingan.

Sakura also looked towards the door and soon saw a man that was not much older than them. He was wearing a black robe with red clouds. He too had the Sharingan.

"So little brother... You are here," the man said.

"Itachi Uchiha what do you want," Sasuke asked.

Itachi stared at Naruto and then at Sasuke. "Are you really that stupid? I'm after the Jinchuriki," he said. Then, he charged at Naruto at full force but was soon stopped by Sasuke.

"Your opponent is me Itachi. It's time that I avenge my clan once and for all," Sasuke said.

Itachi stared at Sasuke and smiled. "Very well my foolish little brother," he said, activating the Mangekyo Sharingan. And in less than two seconds, Sasuke was on the floor unconscious.

"Sasuke," Sakura screamed, running over to Sasuke as quickly as she could, embracing him in her arms. "Sasuke! Please Sasuke! Please wake up!"

"Damn you," Naruto yelled. "Damn you to hell!"

Itachi looked at Sakura. But Sakura knew better than to look into his eyes.

"You'll be next if you continue to be with him," Itachi said to her.

Then, Kakashi, Tsunade and Guy ran into the room.

"Itachi," Tsunade yelled. But Itachi had fled. When Tsunade went to go after him, Sakura yelled, "Milady!"

Tsunade turned to face Sakura and gasped. "Get him to the hospital wing! Now Kakashi!"

Naruto walked over to Kakashi to help him lift Sasuke.

As they left the room, Sakura stopped at the door and started to cry.

Hinata walked over to Sakura and put her hand on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry Sakura," she said softly.

"Why Hinata? Why must Itachi do these horrible things to Sasuke? He's Sasuke's older brother..."

"I don't know Sakura. But it's not right."

"Kakashi Sensei... Itachi was after me... That was why Sasuke got hurt. I'm sorry," Naruto said.

"Naruto... It was not your fault. Sasuke was protecting his comrades. There was nothing that you could have done," Kakashi responded.

"We're here..."

A nurse walked out to them. "Oh my- What happened?"

"Itachi Uchiha," Kakashi answered.

"Quickly. This way," the nurse said to them.

Naruto and Kakashi followed the nurse and laid Sasuke onto the bed.

The nurse looked at Sasuke and then at Kakashi. "Does the Lady know about this?"

"Yes. She was the one who sent us here," Kakashi answered.

"Very well."

Then Tsunade walked into the room. "Mia, get the water and some towels."

"Yes Milady," the nurse said, leaving the room.

"Itachi managed to escape but right now our first priority is to take care of Sasuke," Tsunade said to Kakashi. "Naruto, you and Kakashi should head back to your classroom. I will let Kakashi know about Sasuke's condition throughout the day."

"Yes Milady," Naruto responded.

Kakashi put one hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Come now Naruto. Sasuke is in excellent hands now."

Karin walked about the room gloating about the incident.

"You know, I could sense that guy's chakra from a mile away," she said. "I could've taken him on if he hadn't have fled. That coward!"

"Just shut up Karin," Shikamaru yelled. "You wouldn't stand a chance if you tried to attack him. You saw how quickly he took down Sasuke."

"Besides, that Sharingan wasn't just any Sharingan that you could try to avoid," Neji said. "There was something about it that made seem more... evil."

"I just hope that Sasuke is alright," Sakura whispered.

Then, Kakashi and Naruto walked into the room. Sakura looked up at them quickly.

"Tsunade will let us know about his condition later on," Naruto said to her.

"I see... Thank you Naruto."

Kakashi walked to the front of the room. "Alright now class. Let's all sit down and discuss a few matters."

Everyone sat down and stared at Kakashi. Kakashi walked to the front center of the room and was silent for a moment. Finally he started to speak.

"What you all saw today was an Akatsuki member... The Akatsuki is an organization that plans on taking over the world using certain weapons. Those that are members of the Akatsuki wear black robes with red clouds. They are very powerful... what you saw was only 1/9 of their power. As you saw, that 1/9 of power took down one of your comrades in two seconds."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean that we can't fight them and survive," Karin argued.

"You stupid wench! Did you not hear what Kakashi just said? Did you not see what that man did to Sasuke? If you were to fight that person, you would be killed in seconds," Naruto yelled.

"Easy Naruto," Kakashi said quietly. "Karin... You have to understand that the Akatsuki are strong. Orochimaru was once a member of the Akatsuki."

"Y- You mean... The man who killed the Third," Hinata asked.

"Yes. Just think of what would happen if every single member of the Akatsuki were to attack the village all at once. There are at least nine members each with different abilities," Kakashi said.

The bell rang and school was out. As Sakura, Ino, Hinata and Naruto walked outside, they gasped at what they saw.

"Oh my! Look at those buildings! They are completely demolished," Ino yelled.

"Is this the work of... Itachi," Hinata asked.

"Yes... It is," Naruto responded.

Sakura looked at the buildings and thought about all of the damage Itachi caused. Then, she started to think about Sasuke as a saddened expression crossed her face.

Naruto noticed Sakura's expression and put one hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry Sakura. Everything is going to be alright."

Then, one of the nurses ran out to them.

"Sakura Haruno... Naruto Uzumaki... I have news to bring you. It's about Sasuke," the nurse said. "We are not quite sure what happened to him but the Lady has summoned you. She is hoping that you could wake him for us. If you wake him then we could find out what happened to him and find a way to prevent whatever happened or find a way to help those affected like Sasuke."

Naruto looked at Sakura. "Are you going?"

"Of course. If there is anything I can do to help Sasuke now and others in the future, then I'll do all that I can," Sakura responded.

"Alright. Follow me," the nurse said, leading them into the hospital wing.

The nurse opened the door to the room as Naruto and Sakura walked in. as they walked in, Sakura saw Sasuke lying on the bed still unconscious.

"Sasuke," Sakura cried out as she quickly ran over to him.

"He is still unconscious," Tsunade said walking into the room. "I'm sorry if this scares you. But I need your help. We need you to wake him for us."

"How do I do that," Sakura asked.

"To be honest, we aren't sure. We were hoping that he would sense your aura and awaken."

"But... He's not..."

"What are you saying Sakura? I'm awake..."

"Sasuke," Sakura questioned as she turned to him.

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. "S- Sa- Saku... ra..."

"Sasuke," Sakura yelled as she tightly hugged him.

"Sakura... I," Sasuke started but when he noticed that Sakura was crying, he hugged her tightly. "Oh Sakura..."

"Sasuke. What happened? What did Itachi do to you," Sakura asked.

Sasuke looked down. "I... Don't know"

"Sasuke... What was it that you saw when Itachi activated his Sharingan? What did you feel," Tsunade asked.

"I saw a red moon. And my," Sasuke stopped and sadness crossed his face.

"What," Naruto asked.

"My parents... I saw them being slaughtered again... then as shuriken flew, I felt pain and saw lots of blood. It was like torture," Sasuke said. "It felt like hours of pain."

"Tsukiyomi," Tsunade said.

"What," everyone asked.

"It's a jutsu that is cast through a very special kind of Sharingan. It's pretty much a torture jutsu as Sasuke described. It may feel like you are there for ages but in reality, it's only been a few seconds."

"Really," Sasuke asked.

"Yeah. I'd like to keep you here for a day or two. We might run a few tests to see the extent of this power. Maybe we can find a way to avoid this kind of attack other than avoiding the eyes of the user," Tsunade said.

Sasuke nodded his head and slowly drifted to sleep in Sakura's arms.

"Thank you for waking him Sakura. I promise that I will keep you informed on his condition," Tsunade said using a summoning jutsu. Three mini slugs appeared from the jutsu. Tsunade picked up two out of the three and handed them to Naruto and Sakura.

"These are mini-Katsuyu. They kind of act like cell phones. I can talk to you and you can talk to me through them. Just keep them close."

"Thank you Milady," Sakura said.

"Now go home and get some rest. Both of you. Katsuyu will let you know if you are needed," Tsunade said.

"Alright," they both said as they left the building and headed home.

Sakura walked into her apartment. She noticed that the place was too quiet for her liking. She slowly walked through the apartment, checking every room for anything unusual.

Just when she thought that the house was empty, she went back into the livingroom. Standing there was Itachi. She tried to run but Itachi was too quick. In seconds, he had her pinned down onto the couch.

"Calm down! I'm not going to hurt you," he said.

"What?"

"I'm not here to hurt you," he repeated.

"Then what do you want," Sakura asked with caution.

"I want you to tell Sasuke something."

"Huh? Why?"

"I want you to tell him that there are no dangers among his family. He will soon find out that his biggest enemy in his mind, is his closest friend in his heart," Itachi said, ignoring Sakura's questions.

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to understand it. Only he does," Itachi said.

"And what if he doesn't," Sakura asked.

"He will soon," Itachi replied. And just as quickly as he came, he was gone.

Sakura sat up on the couch. She did not understand what just happened. Why did Itachi do what he did? Sakura wanted to find out.

"Are you alright Sakura," Katsuyu interrupted her thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yes... I'm fine."

Sakura walked to the room which Sasuke had been kept. As she walked in, Sasuke looked at her and sat up.

"Sakura... are you alright? You look... scared," Sasuke asked.

"Sasuke... Itachi," Sakura said but started crying.

Sasuke ran over to her and hugged her tightly.

"Sakura... what happened? What did he do to you?"

"He did not harm me," Sakura managed to say between sobs. "But he sent me as your message. He told me to tell you that there are no betrayers in your family. No enemies so to say."

"What do you mean?"

"Just listen. He said that you will soon learn that your biggest enemy in your mind... is your greatest friend... in your heart."

Sasuke stared at Sakura. "I... I don't... understand."

"Neither do i... He said that you will understand... soon."

"I see," Sasuke replied as though to be in deep thought. "Alright."

"Sasuke," Sakura asked quietly. "Should I be scared?"

"Were you?"

"Well... he did pin me on the couch—"

"He what," Sasuke yelled.

"He didn't do anything to me Sasuke," Sakura pleaded.

"He pinned you on the couch Sakura! You call that nothing? Do you have any idea what he could have done to you?"

"Yes I do! But... but he wasn't after me," Sakura said. "He even told me that he wasn't going to harm me."

"And what about what he said after I passed out? What about, 'You'll be next if you continue to be with him'," Sasuke asked.

"Well he obviously didn't want to kill me then and... wait a minute. H-How do you know about that?"

Sasuke was silent for a moment. "Naruto told me... He told me that the only thing I could do to protect you... would be to stay away from you..."

"I'm sorry Sasuke," Sakura replied.

Sasuke stared at Sakura. "Forwhat?"

"For putting myself in such danger... For making you worry."

Sasuke quickly hugged Sakura as tightly as he could. "Fool! Don't be sorry... You couldn't have done anything except for what Itachi told you to do."

"But-"

"Just be more careful," Sasuke whispered.

"Alright... I will be," Sakura replied.

Sasuke let go of Sakura and stared into her frightened eyes. "Now go. Stay with Hinata. The Hyuugas will protect you until I am able to protect you myself."

"Alright."

"Sakura," Hinata said. "Welcome. Father got the message from the Hokage. We would be honored to protect you."

"Thank you," Sakura replied. Hinata looked at Sakura.

"I don't really think that I need protecting from Itachi," Sakura said.

"You really shouldn't say that Sakura. You never know what he might do."

"Whatever," Sakura responded, walking outside.

"You really think that I could be stopped by the weak and pathetic Hyuuga clan," a voice came from above.

Sakura turned around and looked up into a tree. There, she saw Itachi.

"What do you want," she asked him.

"My, my... So timid. Don't worry. I'm not here to harm you."

"Let me guess... You want me to give him another message."

Itachi looked at Sakura. "No... I would not make you my messenger pigeon when I can just get anyone to do what I want in this pathetic village."

"Then why did you have me give him that first message? Why me if you can just get anyone to do it? Why not do it yourself," Sakura demanded.

"Because he would not listen to me. He would only listen to you at that point. Sasuke would rather kill me than listen to what I have to say. I needed someone close to get his attention," Itachi explained.

"I see..."

"All I want is for my foolish brother to understand."

Sakura looked at Itachi with amazement. "Hay, what if I could get Sasuke to listen to you? Would you explain to him what you want him to know?"

"I... I guess I could."

"Well then, I'll see what I can do," Sakura responded.

"Alright... Oh and Sakura!"

Sakura turned to Itachi, "Yes?"

"Thank you."

Sakura nodded as Itachi disappeared.

The weekend had finally come. Sasuke was now allowed out of the hospital and was in good health now. He walked outside with Naruto as they talked.

"Sasuke... Do you really think that Itachi would come after Sakura to harm you?"

"I don't know... But he is the man that murdered my family... his family. I want to make sure that he doesn't do the same to Sakura," Sasuke replied.

Then Sakura appeared. Sasuke immediately took his attention from Naruto to Sakura.

"Sasuke... May I speak with you alone?"

"Sure. See ya later Naruto," Sasuke said.

"Alright Sasuke," Naruto responded as he walked away.

Sasuke put a hand on Sakura's shoulder. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah. I'm fine... Sasuke, you need to talk to Itachi."

"WHAT? Are you out of your mind?"

"Sasuke please! Just talk to him. He wants to help you understand. Just give him a chance," Sakura pleaded.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Because I don't need anything from him other than his death! Whatever he has to say, I don't want to hear," Sasuke answered.

"You can be so stubborn some times," Sakura yelled. "Just give him a chance! He's your brother for god's sake!" And she walked off without another word. Hinata was soon at her side.

"Sakura... Are you alright," Hinata asked as she spotted tears running down Sakura's cheeks.

"Looks like Sasuke doesn't have the trust he used to have," a raspy voice said.

Sakura and Hinata looked ahead and saw a man who was pale white, had very long dark hair and eyes like a snake.

"Who- Who are you," Hinata asked.

"Orochimaru," Sakura answered.

"Heh, heh... I see you haven't forgotten me little girl. Oh, but I shouldn't call you a little girl anymore. You've grown into quite a woman. No wonder Sasuke takes a liking to you," Orochimaru said.

"Spare me the flattery," Sakura replied.

"Hm... I wonder. Where is the boy?"

"Right over here," Sasuke yelled as he ran to them with Naruto.

"Sasuke! What a surprise! It's been a long time hasn't it. And you even brought the Jinchuriki," Orochimaru said.

"Keep your hands off of them," Sasuke yelled.

"Oh! We sure are feisty aren't we? Well let's see how long you can resist me. Summoning Jutsu!"

Two snakes appeared then. One of the snakes wrapped itself around Sakura and Hinata.

"Sakura!"

"Hinata!"

"Ah ah ah! Not so fast kiddies!"

The second snake then wrapped itself around Naruto and Sasuke. Then the first snake brought Sakura over to Orochimaru.

"Maybe I should kill you... Then I won't have to deal with another Tsunade," Orochimaru said.

"Get your hands off her," Sasuke shouted.

Then another man showed up between Orochimaru and Sakura.

"Itachi," Sasuke yelled. "I should have known."

"Be quiet little brother," Itachi said calmly.

"Oh ho! Itachi to the rescue. Come to save your little brother and his girl," Orochimaru asked.

"I'm only here to protect my family." Itachi said.

"What," Sasuke asked with surprise.

Itachi activated his Sharingan. Orochimaru looked away.

"Very well... I will let you go... For now. But I will return. And when I do, you won't stop me," Orochimaru said and was gone. Then, the snakes disappeared. Sasuke ran over to Sakura and hugged her tightly. Naruto did the same with Hinata. Sasuke looked up at Itachi who was also looking down at them.

"Itachi... what do you want?"

"You would not be inclined to listen. I'm surprised that you haven't tried to kill me yet. And that you could be so careless. Dismissing your girl when it was very clear that Orochimaru was near by. You disgrace our clan," Itachi said walking away.

"I oughta-"

"Sasuke. Please. Just listen," Sakura said.

Sasuke looked at Sakura and yelled for Itachi. Itachi stopped and turned around.

"Speak," Sasuke said.

"You have every right to hate me... I murdered our family... Our clan... and left you here to suffer for it. I have tortured you beyond belief and no brother should ever do that. I am sorry."

"What? Then why? Why did you murder them," Sasuke asked.

"I was following orders... that was all"

"Orders? From who," Sakura asked.

Itachi was silent. "The Third..."

"Naruto was angered at that very moment. "How could you say that? Old man Hokage would never do something like that to his own village! He would never kill off the most powerful clan in the village!"

"Even if they were going to take over the village," Itachi questioned.

Everyone grew silent. Even Naruto. Sasuke looked at Itachi.

"Yes Sasuke. Our father led the clan into a plan to take over the Hidden Leaf. The Third did not want the village to suffer because of one clan. So he had ordered me to kill them off. He said that if I didn't then he would have someone kill everyone including you. I couldn't let anyone kill you..."

"Big brother...," Sasuke said.

Itachi looked at Sasuke. "What did you just call me?'

"Big brother... I'm so sorry. I understand now what you meant," Sasuke said as he hugged Itachi. Itachi, shocked, hugged Sasuke tightly. They finally let go and stared at each other.

"Big brother, you should head back to the Akatsuki before someone sees you," Sasuke said.

"Very well," Itachi said. "I shall be on my way then. Farewell... Sasuke. Do what you can to revive our clan. And lead them down the right path."

"I will big brother..."

Itachi left without saying another word. Naruto looked at Sasuke.

"Sasuke... Are you okay?"

"Yeah... I am," Sasuke said.

"So are you still going to kill him?"

"No... I've learned to forgive," Sasuke said.

*MANY MONTHS PASSED SINCE ITACHI TOLD SASUKE THE TRUTH. SAKURA AND SASUKE CONTINUED TO HANG OUT TOGETHER. NARUTO STAYED WITH HINATA AS THE SCHOOL YEAR WENT ON. SUMMER WAS APPROACHING AND EVERYONE WOULD CONTINUE TO HAVE A GOOD TIME. EVERYONE HAD TWO MONTHS TO PREPARE FOR WHAT WAS COMING UP. THE CHUNIN EXAMS.*

Sakura walked through the streets until she came to ino"s flower shop. She walked into the shop and called for Ino.

"Sakura! How are you girl? Haven't seen ya all summer!"

"Ino, it's not even summer yet," Sakura replied.

"Well you know what I mean. You haven't been around lately," Ino said.

"Sorry. I've been home a lot lately."

"Sakura," Ino said.

Sakura looked at Ino. "Huh?"

"Are you okay? Did Sasuke do something to you?"

"Huh? No. I'm fine," Sakura responded.

"Alright... You just... You just don't seem like yourself lately," Ino said in a concerned voice.

"I'm sorry Ino."

"Don't be. Just... try to get better. I want to see the old Sakura again."

"I'll try," Sakura said as she walked out of the store. She had made a special decision and knew what she had to do. She walked through the streets until she noticed that someone was following her.

"You can come out. I know you're there Lee."

"I'm truly sorry Sakura. It's just that I've noticed that you haven't been yourself lately. I just wanted to make sure that you are okay," Lee said.

"It's okay Lee. It seems that everybody is worried about me. I'm fine though. I promise that I will get better soon and that you will see the old Sakura again."

"That's good. But still, if there is ever anything that you need I'm here. By the way, the Chunin Exams are coming up. You're gonna need all your strength so make sure that you're better by then."

"Thank you Lee," Sakura said as she hugged him.

"Anytime Sakura," Lee responded, hugging her back.

Sasuke lay on his bed feeling upset. He had a lot on his mind but he wasn't sure how to deal with it or express it. He heard a knock on the door and got up to answer it.

"Oh, hay Sakura," he said.

"Sasuke... we need to talk."

"Sure, come in," Sasuke said letting her in.

Sakura walked in and sat on the couch. Sasuke closed the door and did the same.

"Sasuke... I've been feeling down lately. And I know that you have too. So don't try to hide it."

"Yeah... I have," Sasuke said.

"I think it's time that we took a break Sasuke," Sakura said.

Sasuke's eyes grew wide. "S-Sa-Sakura..."

"Sasuke, I know that you probably agree or don't care but I do, I just can't live my life with a depressed boyfriend. It makes me depressed and that is not how I want to live. I'm sorry," she said as she got up from the couch and left.

Sasuke started to cry. "My god... What have I done?"

Sakura woke up happier than usual. She walked through the streets with a smile on her face but deep within her heart, she could feel the pain of what she had done.

Sasuke stayed at home exhausted from all the crying he had done the night before. He could not believe that he had lost his girl. Then, Naruto came barging in.

"You BAKA! How could you let Sakura go like that? How could you let your depression get in between you two?"

"Naruto just SHUT UP!"

Naruto stared at Sasuke.

"Sakura is happy now. That's all that matters..."

"But what about you Sasuke? Are you happy," Naruto asked.

"As long as she is... I will be."

"Sasuke..."

"Just go Naruto," Sasuke said as he walked back to his room.

As Naruto left Sasuke's house, Jiraiya appreared.

"Hay Naruto. What's wrong?"

"Nothing just a couple friends in a fight that's all," Naruto said.

"Hay... uh... I have been ordered by the Hokage to take you out of the village for some training," Jiraiya said.

"Okay when?"

"Now..."

"Now? But that's so soon! For how long," Naruto asked.

"All two months."

"But I was supposed to spend some time with Hinata."

"You're gonna have to forget her for the next two months Naruto," Jiraiya said.

"What? Forget her? How can I do that?"

"You can't afford to have any distractions while training. We will not only be preparing for the chunin exams but for you to be the next Hokage and to fight the Akatsuki and Orochimaru," Jiraiya answered.

"At least let me say goodbye to her," Naruto pleaded.

"Alright."

Hinata walked through the village thinking of Naruto. She desperately wanted to see him. Then she ran into him.

"Naruto!'

"Hay Hinata," Naruto said sadly.

"Naruto? What's wrong," Hinata asked.

"Hinata, we have to break it off..."

"What? why?"

"I'm leaving the village for training and I can't have any distractions. I'm leaving with the Pervy Sage after this. Hokage's orders," Naruto explained.

"I see," Hinata said, starting to cry.

"I'm sorry Hinata. Goodbye."

*NARUTO LEFT WITH THE PERVY SAGE AND SASUKE LEFT WITH KAKASHI FOR TRAINING. SAKURA SOON HEARD OF THE NEWS AND CRIED WITH HINATA WHEN THEY LEFT. BUT SOON, SAKURA LEFT WITH TSUNADE AND HINATA TRAINED WITH HER FATHER AND NEJI. IT WOULD BE TWO MONTHS BEFORE ANY OF THEM SAW EACH OTHER AGAIN. BUT HOW WOULD THEY REACT?*


End file.
